The drug addict was found trying to sneak 17 wraps of heroin into Strangeways prison stuffed up his bum

The man bravely disarmed him and he was detained by police, but trouble flared up again in the van which he damaged after getting out of his cuffs.

Then, in June, Farrell shoved a woman to the floor in Exchange Square in the city centre, causing her to lose consciousness.

He was jailed for eight weeks after admitting common assault, but on admission to HMP Manchester authorities discovered he had drugs secreted in his backside.

Following his release, he failed to show up for court for sentence on the earlier offences, and instead broke into the Ancoats home of an 81-year-old woman – leaving without stealing anything.

At his sentencing hearing for the catalogue of offending, Toby Wilbraham said Farrell had a “very difficult” start in life and started using heroin to try and alleviate mental health problems in his teens.

It was on a rehabilitation course at the age of 23 that he first tried acting, Mr Wilbraham said.